Global warming. To some countries it only has a small negative connotation but for others, the devastating effects are more than only a surrealistic scenario. One of the main consequences of global warming is the melting of the ice caps which gradually causes a rise in sea level, threatening different countries across the world such as the Netherlands, but also countries on the other side of the globe. Many Pacific countries have coral atolls no more than 3 meters above sea level and rising oceans are already inundating some coastlines, polluting freshwater sources and killing off fruit-bearing trees and other crops. The tropical island Vanuatu is one these islands which, if immediate actions are not undertaken by worlds biggest economies, faces a wet future and eventually even total obliteration. The purpose of this article is therefore creating awareness about this topic in order to maintain these paradises and give its people the future they deserve, with land to grow and air to breathe.
The effects of climate change and rising sea levels can be seen on many islands in Vanuatu. The Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project, set up in 1993 by Australian scientists, recorded the sea level at 12 points in the South Pacific and detected a rise of, on average, 6 mm per year. Another institution, Vanuatu’s Meteorological Department, also recorded an increase in the number of storms due to climate change. In the Forties, the number of storms was 5 every year, nowadays the average is 15. These numbers inevitably present themselves in the everyday life of the local communities, floods become a regularity in peoples lives. Rising sea levels, washed out beaches, bleached coral reefs and turbulent weather affect not only the comfort of living of the citizens but also the fast growing tourism industry (20% of GDP, 2006) and Vanuatu’s main export, coconuts, to eventually it will evolve into a total submersion by the ocean.
Some climatologists, such as Stephen Koletti from the University of Southern California, say it is still too early to jump to conclusions. He says that washed out beaches alone are not sufficient evidence for a rise in the sea level. According to him, the ocean and the beach are part of a dynamic system with beaches that are washed out by the ocean during storm season and then being replenished during summer. However, the fact that Vanuatu’s coastlines are not being recovered and the scientific results of the SLCMP measurements are indicators of change which can not be ignored, even by critics.
6 August 2009, leaders from the South Pacific ended the Pacific Islands Forum* which this year focused largely on the key issues of climate change. They seek urgent support from world leaders because it is not just a matter of importance or a matter of urgency, for many of them, it really is a matter of survival.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the new forum chairman, stressed the impacts of the coastal devastation because half the population of the affected islands countries live within less than 1.5 kilometers of their coastlines. In 2005, an entire coastal village in Northern Vanuatu was already relocated to higher ground, making 100 people the first climate-change refugees ever.
So which measurements can be taken in order to stop this threatening rise in sea level? The answer is simple but the elaboration is not: stop global warming! Again, it are the big economies with polluting industries who are pointed at with the finger and quite rightly because their acting affects nations in a region which has contributed little in the way of carbon emissions. In a joint statement the members of the forum therefore called upon world leaders to urgently increase their level of ambition and to give their negotiators fresh mandates to secure a truly effective global agreement. Their plea towards all nations to formally agree to cut emissions by at least 45% by 2020 is consequently totally justified and should be executed by those who are responsible. If not, once Vanuatu will vanish and the earth will loose another oeuvre d’art because of human greed and indifference. It is our shared responsibility to not let this happen.
* The Pacific Islands Forum meets each year to discuss key regional issues. There are currently 15 forum members: Australia, the Cook Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Sources:
Author unknown (August 6, 2009), “Pacific leaders call for ramped up efforts to tackle climate change”, Japan Economic Newswire
(http://newsportal.lexisnexis.nl.proxy1.dom1.nhtv.nl/nhtv/)
Komai Makereti (August 6, 2009), “Pacific states seek urgent climate change action”, Associated Press Worldstream
(http://newsportal.lexisnexis.nl.proxy1.dom1.nhtv.nl/nhtv/)
Jolly Lynn (August 3, 2009), “Paradise Isles trip no junket”, Paisley Daily Press (http://newsportal.lexisnexis.nl.proxy1.dom1.nhtv.nl/nhtv/)
Boehm Peter (August 30, 2006), “Global warning: Devastation of an atoll”, The Independent UK
Hey Allan,
I just read your article and wanted to leave a short comment. On the one hand, you achieved your “purpose of this article” and raised my awareness about the critical situation of the Vanuatu (I haven’t heard of those islands before). On the other hand, I think that this whole discussion about climate change and its threat (especially for low-lying islands in the Pacific) is not very new. Why did you pick Vanuatu and what makes this case different from others?
In spite of some minor spelling/grammar mistakes, in my opinion, the article was well written and easy to read. On more comment, I think you have to mention the authors name of your sources in the text as well and not only at the end.
I hope this is helpful for you.
See you after the holiday,
Kim Hueneke
(Student TDM Masterprogramme, NHTV)
Hey Kim,
Thank you for your opinion, I really appreciate your comments and they surely will be helpful for my next articles.
The fact that the topic of submerging islands is not very original and new is absolutely correct, I have to admit, but I do think, despite maybe its political context, it does have an enormous relevance towards stakeholder theory applied on macro scale. Numerous actors are involved in this issue (public and private) and this on an international basis which makes this topic a sophisticated but relevant example. Furthermore, the urgency is another factor, people’s lives are threatened and repeating messages keeps the attention and awareness present.
The reason I chose for Vanuatu is because it knows a different type of submerging. The water doesn’t flow from the sea but it rises through the soil. That makes that the villages can be totally flooded in less than a minute. This geological peculiarity and the reason that it is a highly affected destination made me choose for the case of Vanuatu.
I hope I gave sort of an answer to your ‘Why?’ and thanks for the advice once more.
See you in school
I’m glad you find my advice helpful and thanks for your further explanation. It definately answered my “Why”. Another thing I was wandering about: What role does tourism play there? You said it’s a “fast growing”, but do tourists have any negative impacts as well? Or can tourism be used to change their situation or does it all depend on global politics?
We all know tourism is a big contributor of greenhouse gases so from this perspective it surely has its affect, the impacts of the tourism on the island itself is rather small and absolutely not as damaging in regard to the submersion. This topic is indeed one of global politics, however, the consequences of this global politics might cause enormous shifts in the tourism industry. Imagine if destinations as Fiji, Vanuatu or Kiribati just disappear from the tourism landscape, then those markets (mostly Asian) will need to find other destinations, leading to growth and creating options for tourism destination management.
Ethically though, and also for the maintenance of beautiful nature, we should try to keep this from happening and focus on preservation and tdm on the endangered destinations themselves.
To my opinion, the link between the disappearance of land/tropical destination and the tourism industry is therefore easily made.